Huge boozing gulf for men in Northamptonshire
Men in Northamptonshire are facing massive disparities between the amount of harm caused to them by alcohol, a new study shows.
The Local Alcohol Profiles for England showed that alcohol had a limited effect on the lifespan of men in the South Northamptonshire Council area, ending their lives on average four months early.
However in the north of the county, despite health services being directed by the same NHS authority, men in Corby have an average of about a year-and-a-half cut from their lives by drinking alcohol.
A spokesman for NHS Northamptonshire said although the figures for the south of the county were "encouraging", the size of the gap was "of considerable concern". While the figures will cheer people living in the south of Northamptonshire – which had the third lowest overall levels of alcohol harm in England – the report showed trends in the wider county were less positive.
Taking Northamptonshire as a whole, the overall rates of hospital admissions due to alcohol abuse have showed a year-on-year increase since 2003.
The eight per cent rise in hospital admissions from 2007/08 to 2008/09 was much less than in previous years, but the size of the leap in Northamptonshire was higher than the national increase.
NHS Northamptonshire admitted the increase was cause for concern, but the latest annual figures (2008/09) indicated that Northamptonshire still had relatively low numbers of alcohol-related hospital admissions when compared to the East Midlands and national averages.
An NHS Northamptonshire spokesman said it was investing money to help the issue.
He said: "We, alongside partner organisations, have recently developed an alcohol harm reduction strategy.
"We are already committed to investing an additional 1.1 million over 2.5 years into alcohol treatment.
"We have also commissioned a hard-hitting alcohol campaign targeting young people and warning of the health risks associated with drinking to excess."
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Saturday 26 May 2012
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